Car-fender.



No. 796.509. PATENTED AUG. 8, 1905.

E. G. HALL.

GAR FENDER.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 5, 1904.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELWOOD (J. HALL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ALBERT C.WOODWORTH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CAR-FENDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8, 1905.

Application filed December 5, 1904. Serial No. 235,478.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELwooD (J. HALL, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the countyand State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Car-Fender, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to car-fenders, and especially to the classcarried by trolley-cars or street-cars.

The object of the invention is to provide a fender of simpleconstruction which will be normally disposed in an inoperative positionwell beneath the body of the car, but which can be instantly sprung intooperative position, so as to catch an object lying upon the track beforethe car.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the forward portion of a car andillustrating the fender applied in practice and carried under theforward portion of the car-body. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectiontaken'through the forward portion of the car-body and through thefender, showing the fender in its normal or inoperative position. Fig. 3is a view similar to Fig. 2, but representing the fender in its advancedor operative position. vertical section through a portion of the fenderand illustrating especially the manner of supporting and releasing thesame for action; and Fig. 5 is a rear face view of a bracket, two ofwhich constitute the main supports for the fender, certain partsappearing in section.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents a car to which myfender 2 has been applied, the same being normally disposed under theforward portion of the car-body, as illustrated.

The construction of the fender and means for supporting the same willnow be described. At suitable points under the car-floor 3 I attachbrackets 4, which brackets present cheeks or side plates 5, to whichoppositely-disposed fender-arms 6 are pivotally attached in any suitablemanner, as at 7 The bodies of these arms 6 are disposed below thepivot-point 7, but their upper extremities project therebeyond andpreferably rearwardly, as shown, so that each may form a pivotalconnection at 8 Fig. 4 is a with a knuckle 9, carried at the extremityof a stem or plunger 10. These plungers pass through openings 11 in therear faces of the brackets 4 and are provided at their extremities withenlarged heads 12, securely attached to the same. Against these headssprings 13 thrust, the forward extremities of said springs thrustingagainst the rear faces 14 of the brackets, as shown.

The lower extremities of the fender-arms 6 are preferably offsetforwardly, as indicated at 15, and these arms make pivotal connection at16 with a transversely-disposed fender-beam 17. To this beam 17 aplurality of curved fingers 18 attach, the same being disposedsubstantially parallel and projecting forwardly, so as to form a'cradleor swinging platform 19, adapted to support a body falling thereupon.The forward extremities of these fingers 18 are separated by thimbles orsleeves 20, through which a transverse trip-rod 21 passes, so that theentire cradle constitutes a firm and substantial construction. I

A suitable pair of the fingers 18, preferably the two outside fingers,have shackles 22 attached thereto, which shackles include pivotalconnections 23, as shown, uniting the members 24 and 25, whichconstitute the shackles. The members 24, are rigidly secured to thefingers, and the members 25 attach to cushion-bars 26. Thesecushion-bars are connected near their extremities by transverse bars 27,with which they unite to form a cushion-frame, and these bars 27 areconnected by a plurality of resilient cushion-strips 28, disposedtransversely between them, as shown. These strips 28, in connection withthe frame to which they attach, constitute a cushion 29, whichconstitutes a guard for the bumper 30 of the car when the fender is inits operative position, as shown in Fig. 3. Preferably near their middleportions the cushion-bars 26 are provided with a plurality of openings31, which facilitate the adjustable attachment of links 32, the remoteextremities of said links being pivotally attached to bracket-plates 33,attached at the under side of the car-body, as indicated.

The springs 13 referred to above evidently normally operate to maintainthe plungers 10 in substantially the position in which they are shown inFig. 3, and hence they operate normally to maintain the fender-arms 6 ina forward relation, also shown in the same figure.

When the parts of the fender are disposed in this relation, evidentlythe cradle 19 constitutes effective means for catching a body lying onthe track in front of the advancing car. Corresponding with thisadvanced and depressed position of the cradle the cushion 29 willdispose itself, as indicated in Fig. 3, in an upwardly-inclinedrelation, lying directly in front under the bumper 30, constituting asubstantial guard to prevent the body in the fender from striking thebumper.

Arrangement is made for normally maintaining the fender in a folded orinactive position under the car-body. Referring especially to Figs. 2and4, beneath the car-floor 3 at a suitable point a throat 34,preferably inclined, as shown, is formed between a pair ofoppositely-disposed throat-brackets and 36, the former of which isdisposed forwardly and provided with a short upwardly-turned lip 37 fora purpose which will appear more fully hereinafter. The throat-bracket36 is preferably elongated with respect to its mate and is formed withan elongated rearwardlyprojecting lip 38, the purpose of which will alsoappear hereinafter. Preferably upon the rear bracket 36 a catch or dog39 is pivotally attached at 40, so that the body of the same inclinesdownwardly in the same general direction as the brackets. The forward orlower extremity of the catch 39 is formed with a head 41, presenting anabrupt shoulder 42 and preferably a curved outer edge 43, and this headnormally disposes itself within the throat 34, as indicated. It isresiliently held in this position by-means of a suitable helical spring44, which surrounds a link 45, pivotally attached'at 46 to the upperextremity of the dog 39. The forward extremity of this spring 44 thrustsagainst aguide-bracket 47, attached to the under side of the floor,through which guide-bracket the link 45 passes, as shown. The rearextremity of the spring thrusts against a collar 48, which is rigidlyattached to the link. Evidently from this arrangement the springnormally operates to maintain the catch or dog 39 in the position shown.The forward extremity of the link 45 attaches, pivotally, at 49 to thecore 50 of a solenoid 51, and the coils of this solenoid are inconnection with a grounded circuit 52, which circuit is adapted to beclosed automatically by the controller 53 of the car. Any suitablearrangement may be adopted for this purpose, such as that indicated, inwhich a collar 54 on an arbor 55 engages a contact-plate 56 when thelever 57 is beyond its 06' position. Asillustrated, the circuit 52 leadsfrom the contactplate 56 through the solenoid-coil and to the ground at58.

At the point upon the beam 17 which lies opposite the throat 34 a tongue59 is pivotally attached in any suitable manner, this tongue projectingupwardly and rearwardly from the beam, as indicated. Near its upperextremity it is provided with an opening 60.

When the fender is thrown into its inactive position, the arms 6 rotaterearwardly upon the pivots 7, and the rear extremity of the tongue 59may be made to enter the throat 34 and when pressed into the samesufficiently the head 41 of the dog 39 will cooperate with the tongue,so as to lock the same in the throat, as indicated in Fig. 4, the upperedge of the opening 60 bearing against the shoulder 42 of the dog 39.The purpose of the outwardlycurved lips 37 and 38 will now appear, asthese lips will evidently facilitate the passing of the tongue into thethroat, and the purpose of the curved edge 43 on the head 41 will alsobe now evident, as the presence of this edge facilitates the lateraldisplacement of the dog by the advancing tongue.

An adjustable connection is made between the tongue 59 and the beam 17for the purpose of enabling the height of the forward portion of thecradle to be nicely adjusted. For this purpose the lower extremity ofthe tongue 59 is provided witha rearwardly-projecting heel 61, whichpreferably inclines rearwardly and downwardly, as indicated, having thesame downward direction as the upper rear face of the beam andprojecting rearwardly beyond the beam, as indicated. To the rear lowerface of the beam a clip or plate 62 is attached, the upper edge whereofis bent laterally, as indicated, in order to constitute a seat forastud63. This stud extends downwardly through an enlarged opening 64 in theprojecting extremity of the heel 61. The body of the stud is preferablythreaded and carries an adjusting-nut 65, the face whereof rests againstthe face of the heel 61. The upper extremity of the stud 63 is providedwith a cap or washer 66, preferably held in position by a removable nut,as shown, and against this cap a helical spring 67 thrusts, the lowerextremity of the spring being disposed against the upper face of theheel 61. With this arrangement, of course, the spring 67 operates toconstrain the beam in an upward direction toward its rear; but evidentlyby adjusting the nut 65 the exact position of the beam may be changed,with the effect of raising or lowering the forward portion of thecradle, as desired.

In practical operation the fender will normally, of course, occupy theinactive position in which it is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, at whichtime it will be disposed neatly beneath the forward portion of thecar-body. If a body should fall upon the track or be discoveredimmediately in front of the car, in throwing off the current the circuit52 would be closed through the solenoid 51, whereupon the core 50 wouldbe drawn into the interior of the coil, as will be readily understood.This would of course pull thelink 45 forwardly and would operate towithdraw the head 41 from the throat 34, releasing the tongue 59, aswill be readily understood. Immediately upon the release of the tongue59 the helical springs 13 operate instantly to throw the plungers 10rearwardly and bring the fender into its active relation, as indicatedin Fig. 3. The fender would be reset simply by hand, as there would befew occasions for its actual use.

Attention is called to the fact that by reason of the constructiondescribed the cradle of the fender when in its inactive position isdisposed, in substantially the same relation with respect to the trackthat it has when in its advanced or active position, and hence thefender would operate, probably, to save the life of a person fallingbeneath the car, even though the forward portion of the car had passedabove his body. Also when the fender is in its inactive or foldedposition it constitutes a substantial guard for the forward wheels ofthe car-truck.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. Ina fender, in combination, a cradle, pivoted armssupporting said cradle, means for normally maintaining said cradle in aninactive position beneath a car-body, means for constraining said armsto throw said cradle forwardly, and means for releasing said arms.

2. In a fender, in combination, a cradle, arms carrying the same, meansfor restraining said cradle in an inactive position beneath a car-body,springs constraining said arms to project said cradle forwardly, a linksupporting said cradle independently of said arms, and means forreleasing said cradle.

3. In a fender, in combination, arms pivotally mounted beneath acar-body, a cradle supported upon the said arms, a cushion attached tosaid cradle, links supporting said cushion, means for constraining saidarms to advance said cradle,and means for releasing said cradle.

4. In a car-fender, in combination, a cradle, arms carrying the same andattaching pivotally beneath the car-body, a cushion attaching to saidcradle and projecting forwardly, links supporting said cushion, lockingmeans for securing said cradle beneath the car-body, releasing means,and means for constrainingsaid arms to advance said cradle.

5. In a car-fender, in'combination, a cradle adapted to swing forwardly,a tongue carried by said cradle, a catch cooperating with said tongueand maintaining said cradle beneath said car-body, and means forreleasing said catch.

6. In a car-fender, in combination, a cradle adapted to swing under thecar-body, a tongue 7. In acar-fender, in combination, a cradle adaptedto swing under the car-body, a tongue carried by said fender projectingupwardly and rearwardly therefrom, brackets carried under said car-bo'dyand presenting a throat therebetween adapted to receive said tongue, acatch mounted at said throat and having an edge lying in the path ofsaid tongue in entering, whereby said catch may be deflected, saidtongue presenting an edge engaging said catch, springs constraining saidfender into an active position, and means for releasing said catch.

8. In a carsfender, in combination, a cradle, arms pivotally attachedunder the car-body and supporting said cradle, means for controllingsaid arms, a cushion attached to said cradle forwardly of said arms, andlinks attached to the side bars of said cushion and also attached undersaid car-body.

9. In a car-fender, in combination, a cradle adapted to swing from underthe car-body, means for constraining said cradle into its activerelation, a catch normally restraining said cradle beneath the car-body,a solenoid in connection with said catch, and means for closing thecircuit through said solenoid.

10. In a car-fender, in combination, brackets attached under thecar-body, arms pivotally attached to said brackets, a beam pivotallysupported on said arms, a cradle carried by said beam and projectingforwardly therefrom, said arms having extensions beyond the pivot-pointsthereof, plungers attached to said extensions and projecting rearwardly,springs constraining said plungers in a rearward direction, a cushionpivotally attached to said cradle forward of said beam, links attachedto said cushion at substantially the middle points of the side barsthereof, means for supporting said links under said car-body, means fornormally locking said cradle under said car-body, and means forreleasing the same.

11. In a car-fender, in combination, a cradle, a cushion pivotallyattached to said cradle near the rear portion thereof and projectingupwardly and forwardly, and means for supporting said cushion and saidcradle to swing under the car-body.

12. In a-car-fender, in combination, a cradle, means for supporting thesame to swing from under the car-body, a pivoted catch cooperating withsaid cradle to retain the same under said car-body, resilient means inconnection with said catch for supporting said eradle, and means forcontrolling said catch to release said cradle.

13. In a car-fender. in combination, atransverse beam, a cradle carriedthereby, a substantially fixed member adjacent to said beam, a'studrigid with said beam, an adjusting-nut carried by said stud and adaptedto engage said member, and a spring thrusting against said member andconstraining said stud.

14. In a car-fender, in combination, a transverse beam, a cradle carriedthereby, means for freely supporting said beam, a tongue carried by saidbeam, means for holding said tongue in a substantially fixed position,and means for adjusting said beam With relation to said tongue.

15. In a car-fender, in combination, a transverse beam, a cradle carriedthereby, movable arms supporting said beam, a tongue pivotally carriedby said beam, means for maintaining said tongue in a substantially fixedposition, a stud carried by said beam, a spring mounted on said stud andthrusting against an extension of said tongue, and an adjusting-nutcarried by said stud and engaging said extension.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two sub scribing Witnesses.

ELVVOOD C. HALL. WVitnesses:

F. D. AMMEN, JNo. M. BITTER.

